"Saturday's Bear" Original painting

The child in this painting is one of my own, my first baby, born on a Saturday. 

My children are both autistic and this painting embodies my feelings of fierce maternal love and protection that has helped me navigate the challenges of raising "different". There are two versions of this painting - one I created for my eldest on her 18th birthday when she had just gone to uni, and another I painted for my 2024 solo show, this version, as it also speaks to the bittersweet experience of a child leaving home - the love and protectiveness I feel, along with the desire to still be able to hold that baby in my arms, is no less fierce. The stars in the background are a nod to my daughter's passion, astronomy.